B.C. man 'thought it was a joke' when he saw $1M lotto prize
A Terrace resident found out he was $1 million richer when he checked the results of the Sept. 30 Lotto Max draw online, but it took a while for him to realize it was real. (BCLC)
A Terrace resident found out he was $1 million richer when he checked the results of the Sept. 30 Lotto Max draw online, but it took a while for him to realize it was real.
"I thought it was a joke," Neil Nabata told the B.C. Lottery Corporation, which issued a news release on his win last week.
"I couldn't believe it."
Nabata won a Maxmillions prize of $1 million in the Sept. 30 draw. The first people he told were his sister and his nephew, according to BCLC.
"They were shocked and very happy," he said.
Nabata said he's thankful that his winnings will give him more flexibility in his retirement and allow him to help his close friends and family.
The Terrace man's win came during a record-setting grand prize drought. Nineteen consecutive Lotto Max draws came and went between Aug. 12 and Oct. 21, pushing the jackpot to its $70 million maximum and generating dozens of $1 million Maxmillions prizes.
Friday's draw saw one winning ticket sold in Alberta, ending the grand prize drought.
The odds of matching all seven numbers and winning a Lotto Max jackpot or a Maxmillions prize are one in nearly 33.3 million, according to BCLC.
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